Jesus was Hated

Everyone wants to be loved. Sometimes the temptation to be a people-pleaser is almost overbearing. But the Bible says that we will be hated for not being like the world. It's almost inevitable. Jesus was despised and rejected by the world. They nailed him on the cross for goodness sake! So who better to look to, than Jesus, the One who was hated the most?

John 15:18-19
If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it has hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Now, I don't think that Jesus was the most popular person in his day. I think that he was misunderstood and hated. The Pharisees hated Jesus. Jesus spoke with the authority that was from God and He was not like them. Jesus wasn't rich nor did he hang out with the Pharisees. Jesus spent his time with the lowly sinners. People in general hated Jesus; they thought he was a hypocrite. Jesus died because people hated him, not to mention that we hated him as well at some point.

If we are not of the world, we will be hated. If we don't do the things that our peers do, we will be hated. If we don't conform, we will be hated.

So, is it worth it? Is God worth being hated and teased? Is He worth losing our popularity and acceptance from others? Wasn't Jesus hated for us? The path that Jesus took was uncomfortable. We have to choose whether we are willing to be uncomfortable in order to give God all the glory that he rightly deserves. It all comes down to what is more important: Christ or acceptance.

Snowflakes

I've recently been intrigued by snowflakes. Have you ever looked closely at a snowflake? It's amazing what you can learn about God by looking at the things he created. By looking at a single snowflake, we can learn that God is an awesome, creative God. He pays attention to detail and he is an intricate designer. All the computers in the world could not make something as beautifully complex as the snowflake. No explosion of chemicals could form the designs and patterns of God's creation.

The sad thing is that people would like us to believe that our whole world is an accident. They'd like to tell us that we weren't created with a purpose, we are just some organization of gases. But how do we have thoughts and emotions? Even our mind testifies to the greatness of our God!

Job 12:7-12

But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Does not the ear test words as the palate tastes food? Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.

Psalm 19:1-3

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

Science classes can be very convincing. Don't let them fool you.

I Judged a Book by it's Cover

I was in the library the other day, just browsing, when I decided to look at the section labeled "Young Adult." I walked by, and read a few of the titles. Rehab was the first to catch my eye. As I continued to read the titles I noticed they were all about drugs, sex, alcohol, gossip, prison, and a good portion were about vampires. I asked myself- Really? Are drugs, alcohol, and vampires all we have to our name? We are practically adults, aren't we?
Honestly, all of those books would thrill an average young adult. But we are not average teenagers. We have a purpose for our life and that is to give glory to God. So when we are tempted to engage ourselves in silly books about gossip and vampires, we can think about how we are honoring God through that action.
If we are considered "Young Adults," then why don't we act like it? Why can't we be interested in something more than what society gives us? Why is a teacher surprised when their student knows more about the Bible than the Twilight series? And why are peers alarmed when their classmate doesn't swear?

1 Timothy 4:12
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

Young is not a synonym for immature.

Garbage in...

The media is constantly putting trash out into the world. Sometimes I don't think we, as young adults, notice how much we need to be protected from things on the T.V., in music, or on the computer. Do we ever stop and think about how it will affect us? Do we ever think about what God wants us to think about?

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Now, in light of this passage, are the things we listen to or watch lovely? honorable? pure?If it is not, we should not be participating in such things. Instead, we should be filling our minds with things like Paul mentioned in the above passage. This would include memorizing scripture so we are more apt to following God's path, not the world's.

Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Garbage in, garbage out. We need to guard our hearts against all things ungodly, so that our lives can be glorifying to God. I don't want my life to reflect that of the people on T.V., I want it to reflect Christ. If God says this is the way we are to be living, then the only things that should come out of us will be true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent.

If God is really number one in our lives, we will honor him through our thought life.

The American Nightmare

This past week I was prompted to write an essay on the American Dream for my Literature class. We were asked to write our beliefs and interpretations of the American Dream in less than two pages (double spaced). This caused me to cut back from exactly what I wanted to say, so I thought I'd bring it back up here.

According to the dictionary, the definition of the American Dream is "a life of personal happiness and material comforts traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S." If I were to rephrase this, I'd define it as a life in which one strives or lives for gaining materials in hopes that they produce happiness. I had to ask myself if I agree, the answer, of course, is no. I do not believe that a life should be lived for the American Dream because it has the concept of happiness all wrong. For a Christian, Jesus Christ gives us joy, not "material comforts".

John 15:11

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 17:13

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

We don't need material things to make us happy, Christ is all we need! He gives us joy, and our joy is made complete. We do not need to fill our lives with junk. The American Dream is really just a poor attempt at achieving a purpose in life and we already have a purpose. Our purpose is to glorify God in everything that we do. We should not live for a better future, a great house, career, or even a family. Our lives are devoted to God, the only Eternal One. All else will just fade away.

These are lyrics to a great song called "American Dream" by Casting Crowns:

All work no play may have made Jack a dull boy

But all work no God has left Jack with a lost soul

But he's moving on full steam

He's chasing the American dream

And he's gonna give his family finer things

“Not this time son I've no time to waste

Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play”

And then he slips into his new BMW

And drives farther and farther and farther away

Cause he works all day and tries to sleep at night

He says things will get better;Better in time

So he works and he builds with his own two hands

And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand

But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in

Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands

His kingdom stands

Well his American Dream is beginning to seem

More and more like a nightmare

With every passing day

"Daddy, can you come to my game?"

"Oh Baby, please don't work late."

Another wasted weekend

And they are slipping away

Cause he works all day and lies awake at night

He tells them things are getting better

Just take a little more time

He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"

But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end?

I'll take a shack on the rock

Over a castle in the sand

Now he works all day and cries alone at night

It's not getting any better

Looks like he's running out of time

All they really wanted was you

All they really wanted was you

All they really wanted was you

What do you live for?

What Defiles a Person?

Mark 7:14-23
And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

"What comes out of a person is what defiles him." Jesus' words tend to ring in my head. This passage boldly explains the state of man's heart, and, let me tell ya', it's no good news (that comes later). But, Jesus tells us that the heart is wicked and causes impurity in a person. From the heart, stems all kinds of evil. But if we are saved, that shouldn't be a problem...right? This reminds me of another passage:

Romans 3:10-12
None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands;no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;no one does good, not even one.

Okay, so that makes sense. No person is righteous because of their impure heart. From the heart comes all kinds of evil and sinful thing. With a heart like that, it's impossible to be righteous on our own account. It is impossible to seek for God or do good. The Romans passage even says that man has become "worthless." Ouch, that one hurt. So, how do we gain righteousness? How do we gain worth?

Romans 3:21-24
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Jesus took away our wickedness and replaced it with His righteousness. He died so that through repentance and faith, we would gain His righteousness. Every sinful thing that we ever did died on the cross when Jesus died and when we die, God will not see our sinful life, but the blameless and perfect life of the One who died for us.

Conformed to Christ

Romans 8:29
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Galatians 5:1
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

Every Christian should strive to be conformed to Christ. We are called to be like Jesus. When someone is saved, the Holy Spirit works in a Christian and they are drastically changed. They go from glorifying themselves to glorifying the One who made them. They are set free from the bondage of sin and they grow to be conformed to Christ.
Do not be fooled by those who claim the faith and after time there is no change. These people need to take a serious look at their salvation. If Jesus was Lord over their life, there would be growth, there would be conformation to Himself. Jesus can calm storms, raise the dead, move mountains, and heal the sick. You bet He can change a sinful heart. God is all-powerful and he changes those who are His own.